Φιλοδικαστής (Philo dikastes)
(“The man who loved judge-duty”)

235

Discussion Meineke III (1840) 611-2; Kock II (1884) 465; Bevilacqua 1939, 26,
49-50; Edmonds II (1959) 622-5; PCG VII (1989) 778; Orth HGL II (2014) 1045.
Title Thugenides, a poet of Old Comedy, wrote a play entitled Δικασταί. Compo-
site titles with φίλο- mainly belong to fourth-century comedies; cf. Φιλαθήναιος
(Alexis, Philippides), Φίλαρχος (Sophilus, Philippides), Φιλευριπίδης (Axionicus,
Philippides), Φιλοδέσποτος (Theognetus, Timostratus, Sogenes), Φιλοθηβαΐος
(Antiphanes), Φιλοθύτης (Metagenes), Φιλοκλίνης (Epicharm), Φιλέταιρος
(Philonides), Φιλάργυρος (Crates II, Philippides, Theognetus), Φιλοτραγωδός
(Alexis), Φιλοπάτωρ (Antiphanes, Poseidippus), Φιλολάκων (Stephanus),
Φιλοπράγμων (Criton); and cf. the plural title Φιλάδελφοι (Philippides).
The Greek word dikastes combines the meanings of‘juror’ and ‘judge’, since he
performed functions associated with both tasks. Throughout the classical period
the Athenian dikastes is a non-professional citizen at least thirty years old. The
whole body numbered 6,000 members, possibly 600 from each tribe. Their pay
was initially two obols; later, after 425 BC, Cleon raised it to three obols. For the
Athenian dicasts cf. MacDowell, 1978, 34-40; Ober 1989, 141-7; on the social
composition of an Athenian jury cf. Todd 1990, 146-73; Lanni 2006, 38-9.
In Aristophanes the emblematic φιλοδικαστής is Philocleon in the Wasps·, his
very name denotes his relation to the demagogue Cleon, who was considered
the patron of jurors; cf. Arg. I ad Ar. V (ed. Biles-Olson 2015, 1-2) Φιλοκλέων
Αθηναίος φιλοδικαστής ών τήν φύσιν έφοίτα παρά τά δικαστήρια συνεχώς “the
Athenian Philocleon, being aphilodikastes by nature, always frequented the courts”.
The first component φίλο- apparently implies a kind of addiction to litigation.
In the prologue of Aristophanes’ Wasps, the slave Xanthias calls on spectators to
guess the strange disease from which his master suffers. It follows a series of jokes
in w. 77-88, which begins with the explanation that this name is the start of the
trouble (v. 77 “φίλο—” μέν έστιν άρχή του κακοΰ), and ends with the disclosure
that Philocleon is a φιληλιαστής “fond of serving on juries” (v. 88). For the name
philos and its derivatives cf. Landfester 1966, 155-71; Willi 2003, 66-7. The most
typical characteristic of an Athenian dikastes, vividly represented in the Wasps, is
extreme severity (e.g. 403-4). At the same time, however, he could be misled in
his verdict by compassion, as Philocleon did in the trial of Dogs (V 982-4).
Content Timocles’ Φιλοδικαστής was staged at a time when Athens was under
Macedonian rule, almost certainly after 317 BC, under the regime of Demetrius
of Phaleron; cf. below, “Date”. Demetrius ruled Athens on behalf of his personal
friend Cassander during the period 317-307 BC. He imposed a mild oligarchy,
under which the Assembly, the Council and the courts continued to function,
although the property qualification of 1000 drachmas had reduced the number of
the participants in these institutions. For Demetrius’ reforms cf. Lape 2004,39-52.